The Development of English-Speaking Skills and Students’ Self-Efficacy Through Social Media Applications and Learning Management Systems

Language education has been transformed with the integration of digital technologies. The advent of social media applications (SMAs) and learning management systems (LMSs) have revolutionized how languages are taught and learned. SMAs provide interactive and engaging environments where learners can practice language skills in real-time, connect with native speakers, and access a variety of authentic language resources. Meanwhile, LMSs platforms offer structured and flexible learning experiences, enabling educators to create comprehensive language courses that include multimedia content, interactive exercises, and instant feedback. This dissertation explores the role of SMAs for the development of English-speaking skills, a comparison of learner interactions in SMAs and LMSs for developing self-efficacy beliefs, and the role that culture and gender have on the students’ perception of SMAs and LMSs for the development of English public speaking skills. The relevance of this topic lies in the potential to inform more inclusive and effective educational strategies as the three studies highlight how digital tools can bridge gaps between traditional classroom instruction and real-world language use. Such research is essential for designing technology-driven language education that meets the diverse needs of learners worldwide. This dissertation consists of three academic papers. The first paper provides a conceptual framework stemming from the socio-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1935) and Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996) to present SMAs’ affordances for second language acquisition. The L2 interaction framework describes how language learners as producers and receivers interact within a SMA environment through input, output, feedback, and negotiation of meaning, which are elements essential for language learning. The paper also discusses the implications of this framework for language instructors, instructional designers, and researchers. The second paper explores peer feedback interactions in an SMA and in an LMS to enhance English public speaking self-efficacy, peer feedback self-efficacy, and English-speaking performance using Vlogs as students’ outcomes. This quasi-experimental study used a pretest-posttest design with undergraduate students (n=15) at a large Midwestern university in the United States. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare means between the SMAs and LMSs groups. The results showed that the platforms did not have a statistically significant effect on the learners’ English public-speaking self-efficacy, peer feedback self-efficacy, or English-speaking performance, which indicated that both platforms are likely to be viable options for peer feedback activities in English language learning. The third and last paper sought to understand if students’ perception of the use of SMAs and LMSs for the development of speaking in English Language Learning is related to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and/or gender. The data was collected in Bangladesh, China, and Costa Rica, with 195 university students participating. The data were analyzed using a Bayesian mixed-effects linear regression model using gender, platform type, and the six cultural dimensions as explanatory variables to which normal priors were assigned. The results showed that, in general, students perceived LMSs slightly more positively than SMA; however, neither culture nor gender had an effect of the prediction of students’ perception of SMAs or LMSs for the development of speaking skills in English language learning. The results of this study implied that both platforms could be used to conduct peer-feedback activities for speaking development in English language learning. The findings from the three papers indicated that a balanced integration of SMAs and LMSs into the language learning process can contribute to the creation an engaging, accessible, and personalized learning experiences.